Bought 'Unlocked' iPhone 4s and it won't recognize sim card. Any help?

Had an iPhone 4 but screen broke so I sent it out for repair but it couldn't be fixed so ordered an unlocked white iphone 4s from a third party site called 'TradeAnythingUk'. I kept my sim card so I could put it in this phone it came through the post today and during setup it has told me this error message :
'The sim card in this iPhone does not appear to be supported, Onlly compatible sims from a supported carrier may be used to activate iPhone. Please insrt the sim that came with your iPhone or visit a supported carriers store to receive a replacement sim card'
I looked at a few forums and thought I'd try restoring the phone and re installing the software this hasn't changed anything
Is this a pure case of the phone not actually being unlocked or is there any more to this problem
I am with Orange network by the way and I am in the UK.

Apparently you didn't get an iPhone that was officially unlocked, but rather one that either wasn't unlocked at all (and you were flat lied to) or that was hacked to unlock it. Restoring would have removed any such hack in most cases.
Only the carrier to whom the iPhone is locked can authorize an unlock, and most carriers will not unless you have service with them. I'd suggest you go back to the unauthorized reseller from whom you purchased this iPhone for redress, since they didn't sell you what they apparently claimed. It's quite possible, though, that you may have to chalk this up as a learning experience, swallow the loss, and buy another iPhone from an authorized source.
Just so you know, unless your old iPhone was in pieces or jailbroken, Apple would have replaced it for £119 if you had taken it to an Apple Store.
Regards.

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